I had to watch this movie for a history class some time ago and it must have made an impression on me as one of my NaNoWriMo novels was loosely inspired by it. I though it was worth a revisit.
Little Big Man is the story of Jack Crabb's (Hoffman) life as he recounts it as a 121 year old. Jack was, from the age of twelve, raised by Indians. Throughout his life he is tossed back and forth between the white world and the Indian world, experiencing the good, the bad, and the weird of both in this off the wall western. Jack meets all sorts of whackos including an adoptive preacher's wife turned prostitute (Dunaway). It all culminates with the reason for his story - Custer's Last Stand.
This movie is weird. That's a fact. It seems that in the past 121 years, Jack's memories may be just a little distorted, or maybe Thomas Berger, author of the novel, is a little odd. It's obviously satirical, using extremes and some nonsense to show how horrible people can be, showing the way native Americans were slaughtered by the whites. This is indeed an odd vehicle for social commentary, but Little Big Man carries it fairly well.
The filmography does feel a bit dated with some shaky acting and the fakest blood I have ever seen, but it maintains good pacing throughout and you actually feel for the characters when they do start leaking ketchup.
This movie has its little moments that are worth paying attention to that come out of the blue, and the big picture benefits from that. This is not standard Hollywood fare by any means, for any time period, but it is still worth going outside your box to see.
**** (4/5 stars)
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